UConn Offers Perennial Plant Conference
The University of Connecticut is sponsoring the annual Perennial Plant Conference—A Conference for the Professional Horticulturist. The conference will be held at the Lewis B. Rome Commons on the UConn Storrs campus on March 12. The all-day event will address a wide range of topics focusing on herbaceous perennial production, sustainable landscape design and retail marketing. Featured speakers include William Cullina, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine; Dale Hendricks, North Creek Nurseries, Landenberg, Pa.; Peter van Berkum, Van Berkum Nursery, Deerfield, N.H.; Jeff Jabco, Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore, Pa.; Cathy Johnston, landscape architect, Barrington, R.I.; Susan McCoy, Garden Media Group, Chadds Ford, Pa.; Alison Kutz Troutman, Sound Horticulture, Bellingham, Wash.; Margery Daughtrey, Cornell University, Riverhead, N.Y.; Dan Benarcik, Chanticleer Gardens, Wayne, Pa.; and Roger Bailey, Northeast Computer Consultants, East Brookfield, Mass.
Barclay Joins Deist
Deist Industries has hired Marty Barclay as purchasing manager. The move will consolidate all purchasing activities, including Buck’s Fabricating, Switch-N-Go and AmeriDeck. Barclay is a certified purchasing manager and has extensive experience in purchasing management for manufacturing companies in the transportation, medical and building automation industries.
AGCO Opens North American Tractor Assembly Centers
AGCO Corp. has opened three tractor assembly centers in the United States near Baltimore, Md., Houston, Texas, and Tacoma, Wash. The centers are taking tractor and parts inventory from AGCO manufacturing facilities around the world for the AGCO, Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra brands.
Rutgers Grad Students Receive CSSA Awards
Eight graduate students in Rutgers University’s plant biology program received awards at the annual meeting of the Crop Science Society of America. Jo Anne Crouch received the Gerald O. Mott Scholarship. Other students won awards in the CSSA C-5 Division oral paper and poster competition. They were John C. Inguagiato, Patrick McCullough, Robert Shortell, Emily Merewitz, Jon Bokmeyer, Matt Koch and Yan Xu.
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| Kendra and Barry Nichols with their newNext Lazer Z. |
News from Exmark
Barry Nichols, a part-time landscaper and full-time firefighter from Loveland, Ohio, was the winner of Exmark’s Next Lazer Z giveaway at the 2008 GIE+EXPO. The prize package included a trip to Exmark’s headquarters in Beatrice, Neb., where Nichols watched his mower roll down the production line. Nichols and his wife, Kendra, also toured Exmark’s facilities and spoke with employees.
Exmark announced that it will ship all Next Lazer Z and Next Lazer Z AS mowers to its distributors and dealers in returnable steel crates. The crates, which are manufactured by Wright Metal Products, Simpsonville, S.C., will be collected from dealers and reused.
Turfgrass Developer Riley Passes Away
Rod Riley, an Australian turfgrass developer, has passed away. He is best known in the United States as the developer of Celebration bermudagrass. Riley worked to develop varieties with consistent texture, darker color, better fall color retention and shade and drought tolerance. Celebration was originally released in Australia as Riley’s Super Sport.
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| Shindaiwa sponsored a Hand-Held Power University at GIE+EXPO. |
Shindaiwa Sponsors Hand-Held Power University
Shindaiwa, along with Oregon Cutting Systems and the Equipment & Engine Training Council, sponsored a Hand-Held Power University at the 2008 GIE+EXPO. It featured 15-minute presentations that were applicable to all brands of equipment, including “Hand-Held Product Safety” and “Saw Chain Anatomy & Basic Maintenance.” Attendees had the opportunity to enter Shindaiwa’s Power Passport promotion to win new equipment and gas cards.
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Friends & Colleagues Mourn Loss of Orrben
Curtis Orrben, national sales manager at DuPont Professional Products, has passed away. His career in the industry spanned 25 years and he was one of the first employees of DuPont. Orrben was active on the membership committee of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) and a member of the Environmental Institute for Golf, National Pest Management Association and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
NaEx Announces New Uses for Soyaplex
NaEx Corp.’s all-natural Soyaplex fertilizer is now available and labeled for use on commercial landscapes, sports fields, home lawns, parks and all other turf applications. It also has agricultural labeling for use on food and nonfood crops in conventional and organic production. Soyaplex is made from 100 percent non-GMO, food-grade soybeans.
Triton Adds Build-A-Trailer Tool to Web Site
Triton Trailers has added a Build-A-Trailer tool to its Web site at www.tritontrailers.com. The tool shows users how a trailer will look with various accessories, offering three views—both exterior sides and the interior view. A detailed shopping list changes as accessories are chosen.
PacLease Adds 14 New Locations
PACCAR Leasing Co. has added 14 new independently owned locations in the United States. They are Southland PacLease, Lafayette, La.; Rush Truck Leasing PacLease, Austin, Texas; CIT PacLease, Bensenville, Champaign, Morton, Normal, Peru and Springfield, Ill.; NorCal PacLease, Gilroy and Redding, Calif.; Arscott PacLease, Raphine, Va.; PacLease of Southern New England, North Haven, Conn.; and Papé Kenworth PacLease, Medford, Ore.
Custom Truck Sales Opens New Headquarters
Longtime Kenworth dealer Custom Truck Sales—Regina has moved its headquarters into a new full-service facility in Regina, Saskatchewan. The new 30,000-square-foot facility is located on a nearly 6-acre site and features 15 service bays, 2,500-square-foot parts department, large parts warehouse, overhead crane and indoor showroom.
TenCate Wins IFAI Award
TenCate Geosynthetics North America received the 2008 Industrial Fabrics Association International Award of Excellence for its project entitled “Swamp and Stream Crossing Airmail Drive” using Mirafi HP370. The project involved surface upgrades made to geotextile-reinforced soil embankments. The International Achievement Awards recognize worldwide excellence in design, technological innovation and excellence within the specialty fabrics industry.
Great American Cleanup Produces Results
Keep America Beautiful announced that the Great American Cleanup, its annual campaign to clean up communities in all 50 states, resulted in a record 48,000-plus gardens, green spaces and xeriscapes created in 2008. This is the first year the organization tracked the number of gardens created. Previously, participating organizations kept track of the number of trees, flowers, bulbs and shrubs planted. The movement to create gardens in 2008 involved public-private partnerships between businesses and governments at the national, state and local levels.
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